


An Alternate Take

by Thnks_fr_th_feels



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, ma - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Bucky Barnes Feels, Feels, Fluff, Gay, M/M, Marvel Universe, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 06:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6107605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thnks_fr_th_feels/pseuds/Thnks_fr_th_feels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically what I think (yelled "NOW KISS" at the TV) should've happened when Steve jumped down to help Bucky after he got trapped beneath the steel shelf at the end of CATWS. It's gay as fuck and I cried while writing it. Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Alternate Take

The ship was falling apart.  
If Steve wanted to stay alive, he had to get out of there now.  
He looked around for a means to get out – a beam to run across, a step to jump down before he was able to escape out a window, but then he heard something that made him stop.  
Agonized screams; Bucky’s screams.  
Steve looked down. A large steel shelf had broken apart and collapsed over Bucky’s body, trapping him, crushing him slowly.

Steve didn’t hesitate to jump down, meaning to help.  
Sure, Bucky may not remember him, not even a little, but to Steve, they were still best friends.  
He couldn’t just let him die again.  
He staggered toward Bucky, clutching at his side.  
Damn it, Buck, he thought. If we survive this, I’m going to kill you.  
He grasped onto the beam, but then the ship shuddered and he fell back down, grunting in pain.  
So dead.

 

The Winter Soldier watched the Captain intently, thoughts racing.  
What is he doing is he trying to help me why is he trying to help me he’s not supposed to do that he’s supposed to be my he’s my enemy CAPTAIN AMERICA YOU ARE MY ENEMY NOW BE A MAN AND FIGHT DON’T HELP ME YOU’RE MY ENEMY!!! YOU! ARE! MY! ENEMY!  
He is my enemy… right?  
Bucky frowned.

 

Bucky stared at Steve with bloodshot eyes, chest heaving.  
He looked so… broken.  
He was broken, Steve knew. HYDRA had destroyed everything about how the man he loved had once been. He was gone.  
Bucky was gone.  
James Buchanan Barnes was gone.  
All that was left now, was the Winter Soldier.  
And from what Steve could tell, there was almost no chance of getting his friend back.

Almost.

Steve crouched beside the beam and grasped firmly underneath. Struggling and grunting, he managed to lift it up a few good inches, just enough for Bucky to pull himself out before Steve dropped it again with a clang.  
Bucky struggled up onto one foot, panting, and turned to glare (surprise, surprise) at Steve.

“You know me,” Steve said softly, his blue eyes meeting Bucky’s.  
Bucky’s frown only deepened.  
“No I don’t!” He yelled, throwing a punch that made them both stagger.

Steve didn’t try to fight back. He got to his feet shakily, still staring at his friend.  
Bucky panted and glared (that pretty much sums up the movie tbh).  
“Bucky,” Steve said. “You’ve known me your whole life.”  
Bucky whipped his fist back across Steve’s face.  
And still, Steve refused to fight back.

“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes,” he continued.  
“SHUT UP!” Bucky screamed, lurching forward and throwing his fist against Steve’s shield, the momentum sending Steve flying backwards.

Steve quickly got back up, throwing off his helmet as he stood back before his friend.  
“I’m not gonna fight you,” he said softly.  
He lowered his shield, before dropping it completely; it fell through the broken glass beneath them and dropped down into the smoke.  
Steve met Bucky’s gaze, breathing heavily.  
“You’re my friend,” he said.

Bucky glared back. His face was expressionless and cold, and yet his eyes held so much emotion – confusion, sadness, fear, rage.  
Mostly rage.

With a roar, Bucky leaped, grabbing Steve and tackling him to the floor (he then pressed their lips together feverishly lol I wish).  
Bucky straddled Steve tightly, lowering his body down to Steve’s level.  
“You’re my mission,” he growled, lips mere inches from Steve’s before he lifted himself back up and raised his metal arm.  
Steve braced himself for impact.

 

The Winter Soldier lowered himself down above the Captain, trapping him between his strong legs. “You’re my mission,” he growled, raising his metal arm.  
He swung, again and again, battering Captain America mercilessly.  
“YOU’RE! MY! MISSION!” With each shout, he landed another relentless blow against the Captain’s face.  
FIGHT BACK! His mind screamed. FIGHT BACK, YOU COWARD! (Lol Harry Potter reference #sorrynotsorry.)  
Why wasn’t he fighting back? His hands were free, so why wasn’t he trying to save himself? Why did he keep refusing to fight?  
He was Steve Rogers, for Christ’s sake! Even against opponents twice his size and three times his weight, Steve Rogers never backed down from a fight.

Wait…

How did he know that?

The Winter Soldier faltered, just as he was about to swing, but Steve’s next words made him stop completely.

 

“Then finish it,” Steve whispered, and through half-closed eyes he gazed into Bucky’s, a soft smile on his lips.  
“Because I’m with you to the end of the line.”

 

Bucky’s eyes widened. Something inside him stirred.  
Those words.  
He knew those words.  
How did he know those words?  
And why were they so important.  
Bucky stared fearfully at Steve. What was he doing? What mind games were he playing?  
NO! No, he couldn’t let him win! He had to complete his mission!

But…

He couldn’t… He couldn’t hurt this man, whom he’d already hurt so much. How could he lay a finger against him, against the man who was now looking at him the way he would unto a lover?

“Who are you?” Bucky whispered, his voice trembling.

 

Steve raised his hand, and gently laid it over the metal grooves that were now gripping Steve’s suit so tightly he could hear the fabric tearing.

“I’m your mission,” he whispered back.

And then he hoisted himself up, wrapping a tired arm around his former lover, curling their fingers together.  
“Bucky,” he whispered, holding his friend tightly, He bit his lip, trying to fight back the howls of misery roaring inside his head as his best friend, the love of his life, stared at him in nothing but confusion. “Bucky…”  
He lowered his head down onto Bucky’s shoulder, tears slipping from his eyes. He clutched Bucky tighter, no longer caring that the ship was falling apart around them.  
Bucky was all he cared about.  
And Bucky didn’t remember him.

 

Bucky’s body tensed beneath Steve’s embrace; his hands froze in mid-air for a few moments before moving down to rest lightly against Steve’s hips, almost as if on instinct.  
It was such a strange sensation, to be held with arms so strong and yet so gentle, careful even, as if Steve were afraid Bucky would break under his touch. Stranger even, when you considered the fact that Bucky was always the one to hold Steve in such a way, protecting him from the world.

Wait…

How had he known that?

Where had these intrusive thoughts come from?

“What are you doing to me?” He whispered against Steve’s neck.

 

Steve moved his head back to meet Bucky’s gaze. The anger had faded from his face, as had the ruthlessness from his eyes, eyes that now born into his own.  
“Who are you?” Bucky asked again, his human hand reaching up to touch Steve’s face. He studied Steve intently, tracing his fingers around his eyes, down his cheekbones, over his lips.  
“Who are you to me?”

Steve smiled gently, pressing his forehead to Bucky’s.  
“My name is Steve Rogers,” he said softly, “And your name is James Barnes, though you prefer Bucky. You’re my best friend – “ Steve’s voice broke a little, fresh tears slipping down his cheeks.  
“You’re my lover,” he continued, his voice so quiet.  
“And I’m with you till the end of the line.”

Bucky sighed, closing his eyes, as Steve kissed the corner of his mouth.  
“Come back to me Buck,” he whispered against Bucky’s lips.

 

Bucky sighed again, as something inside him stirred.  
His heart?  
Did his heart recognize the man before him?”  
“St-Steve…” he murmured, tasting the name on his lips for the first time in 70 years. “Steve…”

 

Steve’s eyes widened for a moment, but then a smile broke out over his face, and he folded his arms back around his friend. “Bucky…”

The ship lurched, and as Steve finally pressed his lips desperately against Bucky’s for the first time in 70 years, the glass crumbled beneath him and he dropped like a stone, tumbling down into freezing water for the second time in his life.

 

Bucky’s body had frozen the moment Steve’s warm lips touched his own, his only movement being the warm tears to trickle down his face, but as the sound of breaking glass filled his ear, he jerked back to safety just as the floor beneath them crumbled.  
“Steve!: Bucky yelled, reaching out a moment too late as his friend tumbled down into the freezing water below.  
Bucky stared down at the water in shock, sudden images flashing through his mind.  
This had happened before, hadn’t it? Reaching out, but being too late to save a friend from falling.  
He’d seen it all before.  
Except, he had been the one who fell last time.

 

Quickly losing consciousness, Steve’s body sunk down through the murky green water. His head pounded, his chest burst, but his arms were too tired to try and fight their way back to the surface.

Spots clouding his vision, lungs screaming for air, he didn’t notice the hand reaching for him as his world descended into darkness.


End file.
